Trump admin live updates: White House drops NASA nominee with Musk ties

Secretary Pete Hegseth departed Wednesday for Singapore, where he will attend an annual gathering of defense ministers, senior military and diplomats from across the Indo Pacific region.

Speaking briefly to reporters this morning, Hegseth said his goal attending the event was to strengthen US relationships with allies and partners in the region to "achieve peace and deterrence through strength."

"We're going out to Singapore to hold a series of meetings to ensure that region understands America will be strong. We seek no conflict with anybody, including the Communist Chinese, but we will deter that," he said.

"We will stand strong for our interests, and that's a big part of what this trip is all about," Hegseth later added.

It's Hegseth's second trip to Asia.

His first visit last March, which included stops in the Philippines and Japan, was overshadowed by revelations that he relied on the commercial messaging Signal app to relay details about a future military attack to other administration officials.

Hegseth has vowed to reorient the US military to prioritize defending the homeland and deterring China from increasing its influence around the world.

--ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa policy targeting foreign officials who "are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States."

"It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil," he wrote in a statement.

Rubio continued: "It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States."

Exactly how the new policy will be employed remains to be seen, but officials from countries like Saudi Arabia -- which have a history of targeting dual nationals for criticizing their governments on social media from the U.S. -- are ostensibly likely targets.

Rubio also posted to X about the policy, declaring "free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority."

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston

Trump will swear in Jeanine Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. during a ceremony in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon.

Trump tapped Pirro, a former prosecutor and Fox News host, for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin.

Martin, who had served as D.C.'s interim top prosecutor, lost GOP support for the job. Martin's past, specifically his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and inflammatory rhetoric around the Capitol attack, plagued his nomination.

Vice President JD Vance is set to deliver remarks on Wednesday at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas at noon EST.

The vice president's remarks come just days after Trump hosted a gala at the White House for the top holders of his cryptocurrency meme coin. Trump said the gala had nothing to do with his official duties.

Trump spoke at the same Bitcoin event last year, setting the scene for his presidential administration and it's favorable approach to the cryptocurrency industry.